Opalka Gallery

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Opalka Gallery Current Exhibition, "Light and Transient Causes," Sept. 1- Dec. 5, 2026. Russell Sage College. 40 New Scotland Ave, Albany, NY 12208.

Also visit our partner site at Albany Public Library, Pine Hills Branch for "Super-Natural," June 5—Nov. 7, 2026 Opalka Gallery is the formal exhibition facility of Russell Sage College. Located on the Albany campus, Opalka’s primary focus is on modern and contemporary art and design from nationally recognized artists. An important part of the cultural life in the Capital Region, the Gallery frequently hosts lectures, films, concerts, and other events in conjunction with its exhibitions.

Next week! Thurs. Oct. 22 at 6:30pm, get to know two creatives in our region! Left: Robin Lewis is a newly appointed ass...
10/16/2026

Next week! Thurs. Oct. 22 at 6:30pm, get to know two creatives in our region!
Left: Robin Lewis is a newly appointed associate professor of musical theatre here at Russell Sage College. He is a 12-year Broadway and national Broadway touring veteran. He’s also a choreographer who has worked with filmmaker Richard Linklater. Russell Sage Musical Theatre
Right: Poet, playwright and short story writer Jeffery Torres moved to the region from the Ozarks of Arkansas but has since found a home among other writers, performing regularly at Playwright’s Jam in Saratoga Springs. His play, “Wild Rice (We are Cherokee)”, has been performed around the country.
Hosted by David Baecker of Theatre Institute at Russell Sage and poet Carol Durant Poet Playwright Recording Artist

THURS Oct 15. 6:30-7:30pm, Book talk and signing. Ira Baumgarten, producer of the multi-media project "Shapeshifters: Bo...
10/13/2026

THURS Oct 15. 6:30-7:30pm, Book talk and signing. Ira Baumgarten, producer of the multi-media project "Shapeshifters: Bodies Like Water," will give a brief presentation on the project and will have copies of the book of the same name for purchase and signing. All proceeds will be donated to a local non-profit benefitting the LGBTQ+ community in Albany. "Shapeshifters" honors the deep connections between the body, land, and q***r wisdom.

"Light and Transient Causes"September 1 – December 5, 2026Artist Spotlight: Weihui Lu"between the bars I find my own ton...
10/12/2026

"Light and Transient Causes"
September 1 – December 5, 2026

Artist Spotlight: Weihui Lu
"between the bars I find my own tongue," 2026
Mild steel, rust, handmade paper (abaca, bamboo, ginko and h**p fibers)
Image 1: Installation view, photo credit Melinda McDaniel
Image 2: detail

Created in response to the architecture of a historic church in Upstate New York, "Between these bars I find my tongue" traces the dimensions of a steel-framed window through suspended metal grids that loosely resemble Chinese characters. The work occupies a threshold between architecture and language, where systems of structure begin to soften into gestures of memory, translation, and loss.

Weihui Lu's installations emerge through elapsed material transformations. Handmade paper, pulped from bamboo and ginkgo leaves gathered from the artist's childhood home, responds to sunlight over the course of the exhibition, while moisture from the paper gradually oxidizes the steel, returning an industrial material to an organic timescale. Inviting rust, light, gravity, and weather, the installation registers the passage of time while exploring ephemerality, ecological history, and the psychological implications of the modern landscape.

Read more about Weihui Lu on Bloomberg Connects:https://guides.bloombergconnects.org/en-US/guide/opalkaGallery/item/46dbc257-fba1-4082-804d-a046644c1f9d

This THURS Oct. 8, 6:30-7:30pm Join us for a poetry reading by Susan Comninos, Janet Bowdan, and Shira Dentz, contributo...
10/06/2026

This THURS Oct. 8, 6:30-7:30pm
Join us for a poetry reading by Susan Comninos, Janet Bowdan, and Shira Dentz, contributors to "The Color Wheel: Poems" (Terrapin Books, 2026). Join three local authors in an interactive experience of engaging with poetry that speaks to both art and all the hues of human and natural experience. The audience will be invited to participate by collectively viewing images and offering their own brief impressions.

This event is funded in part by Poets & Writers with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

"Light and Transient Causes"September 1 – December 5, 2026Artist Spotlight: Sky Hopinka"When You're Lost in the Rain," 2...
10/05/2026

"Light and Transient Causes"
September 1 – December 5, 2026

Artist Spotlight: Sky Hopinka
"When You're Lost in the Rain," 2018
HD video, stereo, color
5m 5s

Language is central to Sky Hopinka's practice. Fluent in Chinuk Wawa, Hopinka explores the challenges of language preservation and transmission and, more broadly, language as a container of culture. Throughout his films, gestures of translation—between languages, images, places, and histories—are often mirrored in their formal operations.

Drawing its title from the song “Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues” by Bob Dylan, "When You're Lost in the Rain" layers spoken language, music, and moving landscapes into an elliptical meditation on longing, uncertainty, and place. Images accumulate through association rather than chronology, allowing moments of recognition to emerge gradually before slipping away.

Read more about Sky Hopinka on Bloomberg Connects: https://guides.bloombergconnects.org/en-US/guide/opalkaGallery/item/38e7a1fb-1d8b-4b66-986b-b33e43270595

We have a large sold-out event in the gallery this Saturday, 10/3 from 12-3. If you're planning to view the exhibition t...
10/01/2026

We have a large sold-out event in the gallery this Saturday, 10/3 from 12-3. If you're planning to view the exhibition this Saturday, please keep in mind that, the best chance do that will be 3pm to 5pm. Sorry for the inconvenience.

FRI Oct. 2, 6:30-7:30pm, First Friday Albany Music from Buggy Jive. Fresh off his sweep of the 2026 Eddies Music Awards,...
09/30/2026

FRI Oct. 2, 6:30-7:30pm, First Friday Albany
Music from Buggy Jive.
Fresh off his sweep of the 2026 Eddies Music Awards, Buggy Jive stops by Opalka for First Friday! Gallery will be open until 8pm so check out the current exhibition before or after the show!

Soul rock singer-songwriter Buggy Jive has always made music while in hiding, quietly uploading songs and music videos from a basement studio somewhere in Upstate New York. Equal parts Zeppelin and D’Angelo and Prince and Joni in sound and sensibility, his lyrics often mine the literature of the past to make sense of the present – from Ellison to Morrison to Eliot to Didion. Even before his pandemic-era music video and reclusive rallying cry “Ain’t Going Anywhere” went viral, the only way to see him perform live was the occasional house concert streamed live from his basement studio.

Learn more about the artist on their website: http://www.buggyjive.com

Address

140 New Scotland Avenue
Albany, NY
12208

Opening Hours

Tuesday 12pm - 5pm
Wednesday 12pm - 5pm
Thursday 12pm - 8pm
Friday 12pm - 5pm
Saturday 12pm - 5pm

Telephone

+15182928607

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